Car dealership donates vehicle to area school for redesign

BATON ROUGE - Scotlandville Pre-Engineering Magnet Academy students are getting a chance to put the pedal to the metal, and it's all starting with a new gift from a local dealership.

Gerry Lane Chevrolet donated a car to middle school students, and now they're going to tear it apart.

A dozen students and administrative staff couldn't sit still at Gerry Lane dealership knowing the gift they were about to receive.

"This year our students have decided to transform a car, and Gerry Lane has been kind enough to donate the car to our school, and in turn, the students are going to technologically enhance that car," said Shalika Scott.

The dealership donated the car to the academy to help advance their STEM curriculum. The engineering class will learn the design and technology that goes into this car, and then apply any new ideas they have to transform the vehicle.

"We are going to take their ideas and see how we can implement everything into one big project and then finally put that into the car," said engineering teacher Bri Rarrell.

Eighth-grader Jeremiah Givens wants to be a mechanical engineer and can't wait to see the things this project teaches him.

"We are going to learn new stuff about the car and learn how the technology and stuff in the car works, and we're going to build a car," said Givens.

This not only gives students an opportunity to explore more than they can in class, but it also motivates the students to learn.

"In the end, we have kids and we have students who are excited to learn," Rarrell added. "They want to learn the information in order to work on the car because in the end, the ultimate goal is to get kids excited about education."

The students will take field trips to work alongside Gerry Lane staff to transform the vehicle.

The partnership will also benefit parents. Once a month, students names will be put into a drawing, and the winner's parents will be able to drive a Chevrolet for a weekend.